SVSU football hosts No. 9 Ashland on Saturday

Updated 6:30 am, Friday, October 9, 2015

A tough season-opening stretch is over for the Saginaw Valley State football team.

After playing four of its first five games on the road, SVSU hosts Ashland Saturday at 7 p.m. at Wickes Stadium to start a stretch of four home games in five weeks.

But that doesn’t mean the schedule gets any easier for the 0-5 Cardinals. Ashland enters the game 5-0 and is ranked ninth in Division II.

“We’ve played a tough schedule, for sure,” said SVSU coach Jim Collins. “And again, we’re up against a really strong opponent. It’s good to be back home, and I think our guys are ready, again, we have the talent - it’s going to come down to who plays the best.”

SVSU’s only home game thus far was a 35-21 loss to Michigan Tech - currently ranked No. 14 - in its third game of the season. Although they lost, the Cardinals showed signs of improvement - a trend that continued two weeks ago during a 35-18 loss at No. 4 Ferris State, and again last week at Northern Michigan.

In the loss to Northern, the Cardinals scored with 22 seconds left in the game to pull within 36-34, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed.

“Last week was definitely a tough one,” Collins said. “I thought we played well enough to deserve to win.”

The reason SVSU was forced into a 2-point attempt was because when Northern scored to take a 27-21 lead midway through the third quarter, the point-after snap was bobbled, forcing the holder to scramble. He eventually found his way into the end zone to give the Wildcats an eight-point lead instead of a seven-point lead.

“I don’t believe in bad luck or good luck, I think it all comes down to execution,” Collins said. “And on that particular play, we didn’t execute. We had a chance to make the tackle and we didn’t do it.”

Although the Cardinals didn’t break into the win column in their fifth try, Collins took several positives from the close loss.

Most notably, the 34 points is the most for a Cardinals team since a 49-34 loss to Grand Valley St. in the final game of the 2013 regular season.

And quarterback Brad Odeman Jr. made another step in the right direction with his best game yet at SVSU. The junior transfer from San Diego State completed 21 of 38 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 45 yards in his fourth start of the season.

“He’s getting very comfortable with our scheme. We forget that although he’s mature and has experience, this is his first year here,” Collins said. “He’s getting confident and getting a good understanding of what we’re trying to do offensively. The people around him are playing better and he’s making plays on his own - scrambling and making throws.”

Also against Northern, running back Drew Herrell continued to assert himself as SVSU’s go-to back. The junior become the first Cardinals’ running back to run for 100 yards since Norman Shuford almost two years ago, on Nov. 2, 2013 against Michigan Tech.

Herrell was injured early in the first game last year and missed the remainder of the season. He’s led the Cardinals in rushing the last three games with 43, 66 and 110 yards.

“He’s just starting to get back into form, the kind of form you need to be a player in this league,” Collins said. “He’s been big for us, three weeks in a row now. He’s broken tackles and made guys miss - which is great to see.

Collins pointed out that wide receivers Bryan Fobbs and Max Corcoran also enjoyed good games against Northern. Fobbs had seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown while Corcoran caught five passes for 42 yards.

Herrell will need another big game to keep pace with Ashland running back Vance Settlemire. The junior has rushed for 557 yards in four games, and his 139.3 average is best in the GLIAC. Last year, as a backup, Settlemire ran for 753 yards on only 94 carries for a remarkable 8 yards per rush.

“We’ve been pretty good in our five games against the rush, but this is a team that’s going to challenge that,” Collins said. “Because if (Settlemire) isn’t the best running back in the league, he’s one of them. And they have enough around him with their quarterback, receivers and tight end to keep you (from focusing completely on stopping the run).”

Ashland is averaging just under 40 points per game this year, and quarterback Travis Tarnowski has thrown for 1,262 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Eagles’ leading receiver is tight end Adam Shaheen with 360 yards and four touchdowns.

Ashland is in first place in the GLIAC South Division. SVSU sits at 0-4 in the GLIAC and is the only winless team in the South Division.

“When you play teams like this, you don’t necessarily have to stop them,” Collins said. “It’s about containing and preventing that big play, tackling and getting guys to the football.”

The Cardinals are at home again next Saturday for their homecoming game against 1-4 Lake Erie.

“It’s all about execution,” Collins said. “We’re learning how to do it and I see us improving every week. And (getting a win) is going to happen. Our kids are working hard enough to make it happen.”